Jurors Queried in Abortion Doc Slay Case

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, March 2, 2003

Potential jurors in the murder trial of James Kopp filled out questionnaires Monday that asked them, among other things, their religion and their feelings about abortion.

Some 160 potential jurors were called Monday to go through orientation and fill out questionnaires.

Kopp, a longtime anti-abortion activist, is charged with murdering Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician who performed abortions as part of his practice, in October 1998. He has admitted shooting Slepian through a rear window of the doctor's suburban Amherst home but said he intended only to wound him to stop him from performing abortions.

Slepian died in front of his wife and two of their four sons.

In his remarks to jury prospects Monday, Judge Michael D'Amico cautioned them to be honest with the court about their opinions on abortion.

"The issue of abortion may be raised during the course of this trial. … Whatever your view may be, it does not disqualify you from serving on this jury," he told them.

The 16-page questionnaire asked jury prospects whether close friends or relatives had ever belonged to a group that advocated a certain viewpoint on abortion, and whether they read a Nov. 20 interview Kopp gave to The Buffalo News admitting to shooting Slepian.

Kopp's attorney, Bruce Barket, said he would not seek to exclude everyone who believes in a woman's right to abortion. He said he sought people "who can fairly judge this case from Jim's perspective."

More prospective jurors were being called to fill out the questionnaires Tuesday and Wednesday. Lawyers would then have a week to review them before starting interviews of possible jurors March 12.

Opening statements are scheduled for March 17, and the judge said the trial is expected to last three to four weeks after that.

Kopp stood and smiled at the jury pool when he was introduced. Outside, four demonstrators from the militant Army of God anti-abortion group handed out fliers to passers-by, urging prospective jurors to acquit "baby defender James Kopp." Abortion opponent Adrian Horien said the shooting was "justifiable homicide."

Kopp is charged with second-degree murder and murder with depraved indifference to human life. He could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He faces a separate federal charge of interfering with the right to abortion and is a suspect in the nonfatal shootings of four other abortion providers in Canada and Rochester over the past decade.

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Authorities quickly connected Kopp to the Slepian killing after matching his car with one reported by neighbors near Slepian's home. He fled the country and was one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives until his capture in France in 2001.